ALMATY, October 23. /TASS/. Russia’s Karen Khachanov failed to reach the semifinals stage at the 2026 Almaty Open tennis tournament after he fell in to Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan on Friday.

In the match that lasted for 2 hours and 27 minutes, the 5th-seeded Russian, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, lost to his 3rd-seeded opponent from Kazakhstan 4-6; 7-6 (7-5); 7-6 (7-5).

Bublik is now set to clash in the semifinals of the tournament on his home soil against Russia’s top-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev, who earlier in the day outplayed France’s Terence Atmane in straight sets 6-4; 6-4.

A seven-time ATP champion, Khachanov, 30, is currently the 25th-ranked player in the world. His best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semifinal rounds at the 2022, 2026 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

The Russian player also took home the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

The 2026 Almaty Open is the ATP 250 class tournament played on indoor hardcourts on October 19-25 and it offers $1.075 million in prize money. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is the tournament’s reigning champion.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.